


set theory

by chashmish



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, a bit of everything, some AU some canon-verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 03:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12050250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chashmish/pseuds/chashmish
Summary: Two Wild Cards, in one hundred one-sentence stories.





	set theory

**Author's Note:**

> exactly what the description says, written mostly to amuse myself

  1. “Sorry, sorry,” Akira says, apologizing for the spill and keeping a careful grip on the coffee pot this time, but is he really, when he gets to see Akechi’s pretty, pale hands carefully set aside his ruined gloves?
  2. In a fit of desperation after hearing the ghostly rustling noises again, Akira ends up combing through all the old photos in the attic only to find that the long-dead guy who may or may not be haunting his new house is– really attractive, actually.
  3. Goro doesn’t even know why he’s in the music store, but after being cajoled into listening to the fourth “post-industrial German rock” song he thinks the smirking, curly-haired employee behind the counter might be playing a joke.
  4. “Try to follow along with me, Kurusu, it’s like this,” Akechi sighs, placing a hand on Akira’s waist as he leads them in their dance, and Akira can’t keep the stupid grin off his face.
  5. “It’s like you’re at his beck and call,” snaps Ryuji, but is it that wrong if he wants to know Akechi, so bad if he likes the way he says Akira’s name?
  6. This time, Akira sees Akechi inside Leblanc through the door before he even enters, and when their eyes meet he has to look down to hide a private smirk.
  7. Goro can’t decide which he hates more– Akira’s languid, innocent smile or Joker’s sharp, merciless grin.
  8. “Let’s make a deal– you can pick whatever futon you want for the apartment if it means I get to look for a place for us to have sex in this Ikea,” suggests Akira.
  9. Akira sleeps restlessly; the Akechi in his dreams always replies to his pleas with silence, his question of “Why didn’t you tell us?” with a cold “You never asked.”
  10. “I love you,” Goro says to Akira’s sleeping back, as quietly as he can while still audible, and almost drops his coffee when he gets the text the next morning after he’s left for work: _I love you too._
  11. Akira thinks Goro looks very, very good wearing Akira’s clothes and makes sure to tell him so in a series of increasingly explicit text messages that all arrive while Goro is in a fucking _meeting_ , thank you very much.
  12. The car descends into uncomfortable silence when Futaba quips “Maybe you could focus more on driving if you stopped staring at Akechi in the rearview mirror,” after a particularly nasty bump.
  13. “You’ve got quite a mouth on you,” says Goro, eyes narrowing slightly, and turns an interesting shade of purple at Kurusu’s lightning-fast reply: “Oh, wanna see what else I can do with it?”
  14. Goro pretends not to be moved after Akira gets him exactly what he wanted for his birthday: the last season of Featherman on DVD.
  15. “Okay, _Akechi_ , don’t panic,” Akira says into the phone, seeing the unimpressed officer’s eyes suddenly widen at the sound of the high-profile name, “but I need you to bail me out of jail.”
  16. Goro’s sure he plays his part well, but sometimes Akira’s eyes meet his and almost seem _knowing_ and part of him thinks maybe, just maybe–
  17. Akira guesses he deserves Futaba changing his voicemail to “Sorry, Akira’s probably at the mall again because he thinks the bitchy mophead Forever 21 employee is his soulmate, leave a message!”
  18. Akira knows how stupid he is for getting wasted and having to call for a ride, but it’s almost worth it to see Akechi’s car pull up and his window roll down and to hear him say “Kurusu, I’m beginning to think you might be an idiot.”
  19. When Futaba hisses “Can you please not antagonize the detective who wants us all in jail?” Akira only bats his eyelashes and says “But you know I can’t resist pretty things.”
  20. Goro doesn’t really get the whole “goth” thing, but he does know Akira pulls off the look– eyeliner, apathy and all– so well it’s almost sinful.
  21. After November, the way Akira feels rage is forever changed, all his fury now only an echo of Akechi’s overflowing anger, every new fight he fights always, in part, for him. 
  22. “Joker, we have to–” Morgana says tentatively, but Akira’s hands keep hitting the wall, the thump of the erratic noise the only thing breaking the awful silence in the engine room.
  23. “Oh, trust me, it’s perfectly all right,” Goro says in response to Ann’s flustered apologies, eerily calm as a very inebriated Akira lays his head on Goro’s lap, and even begins to start idly stroking Akira’s hair, much to the horror and general discomfort of everyone else.
  24. “How do you feel?” says Akira casually, surveying Goro’s new thief clothes for the first time, and in answer Goro looks at him, smiles slightly and replies “Untouchable.”
  25. No one says anything when Akira keeps Akechi’s weapons in his room.
  26. “What do you say to that, Kurusu?” crows Goro, panting triumphantly, when he wins the round of Dance Dance Revolution, but Akira is too shocked by the rare sight of Goro actually sweating to respond.
  27. “who is the sexy stranger at ur work party who keeps looking at me like he wants to challenge me to a duel” Akira furiously texts Makoto while trying not to lose sight of the frowning man in question.
  28. As Goro leans closer and glides the brush across Akira’s face, hands steady and sure, Akira wonders how much longer he can get away with pretending to not understand makeup.
  29. “So you attempt this. On a near-daily basis. For… fun?” Akechi says, staring at the gigantic burger like it’s a calculus problem.
  30. Akira thought he’d get tired of Goro’s constant commentary and minute factual corrections every time they watched a movie, but seeing one now without the interruptions just feels lonely.
  31. Goro Akechi is woken up at 3:36 AM by a Tinder message from someone named Akira that says “LET ME TAKE OFF THAT SEXY SWEATER VEST BABE ;) Sorry i didnt mean caps lock i wasnt yelling”
  32. Akira can’t stop thinking about how when he speaks, Akechi looks at him and _listens_.
  33. Akira would welcome Akechi’s knife at his throat if it meant a chance to see the truth in Akechi’s eyes.
  34. Goro wraps Akira’s leather jacket around his shoulders and closes his eyes, wanting desperately, suddenly, to both know and be known.
  35. Rain falls in sheets outdoors, but in Leblanc there’s only the quiet sounds of pages turning and another cup of coffee being poured.
  36. Akira only finds out why Makoto’s suspiciously attractive friend is looking at him with cold malice in his eyes when his assertion of “Brunch? Who wants to go to brunch? Do I look like that much of a bourgeois, pretentious douchebag to you?” is met with a reply of “...Akira, Akechi suggested it.”
  37. Akechi’s smiling remark of “Welcome hom–” is abruptly cut off when Akira steps inside Leblanc, drops his bag, and leans in to kiss Akechi firmly on the lips.
  38. Goro never thought he would grow used to having his closely-guarded space so thoroughly invaded, but when Akira’s hands are in his hair or his lips are at Goro’s neck, something tense inside him unwinds slightly and feels… calmer.
  39. Tranquility is what he wants, Goro thinks, in one of the rare moments of indulgence that only come after another one of his panic attacks, _tranquility_ – and unbidden thoughts come to his mind of a curly-haired boy and his comfortable little coffee shop and his _cat_ , all so fucking impossible and optimistically kitschy it almost makes him retch.
  40. Akira thinks strategy, finds the right words to say, makes all the careful gestures count, quietly writes the playbook of getting past Goro’s innumerable defenses– and it’s all worth it for the brief moments in which he gets to see the walls come down.
  41. After lunch in the chatter of the classroom, paragon of academic excellence Goro Akechi adjusts his collar with a suspiciously flushed face, hiding the constellation of marks infamous delinquent Akira Kurusu made on his neck.
  42. Akira didn’t really _mean_ to break into Goro’s old apartment and end up sitting with his knees pulled up to his chin on the carpet, fighting back pinpricks that feel suspiciously like tears behind his eyes– it just kind of happened.
  43. The man at the party with the tousled hair and the world-eating smirk keeps trying to catch his eye, but Goro turns his shoulder, demurely sips his drink, and waits– all part of the game, of course.
  44. Akira likes watching Goro get dressed, finds himself enamored by the fastidious way he pulls on his socks, fixes the collar of his shirt– _yeah_ , Akira thinks, _I’ve got it bad_.
  45. “I can’t believe you brought home another cat,” Goro admonishes a sheepish Akira, but seeing as how he gently scratches their newest feline under her chin, he’s not actually upset about it.
  46. “Saying you’d fuck Akechi whenever we play fuck-marry-kill even when he’s not an option is against the spirit of the game and kinda making all of us very uncomfortable,” Ann says as Ryuji nods earnestly.
  47. Goro is half-asleep on the couch, just barely watching the credits of the made-for-TV movie roll, when Akira nudges him with his toe and says “Hey, you wanna get married?”
  48. Goro says nothing when a vicious jab of Joker’s knife sends a shadow’s head toppling to the ground, but Joker senses his reaction, probably, turns to survey him with a barely-there twist of his lips, and if Goro weren’t so confident in the impenetrability of his deception, he’d swear that look reads _takes one to know one._
  49. Goro keeps odd hours and Akira sleeps like a rock; somehow it works perfectly in the end.
  50. Akira makes a candid of Goro laughing his lock-screen picture; Goro keeps a secret photo of Akira in his wallet.
  51. Staring at Akechi’s flawless celebrity-smile on the TV screen, Akira realizes his problem is that he can’t resist a challenge.
  52. “He won’t even go away when I’m rude to him. In fact, I think he _prefers_ it,” complains Goro, holding his phone between his neck and shoulder as he paints his toenails, and Makoto’s dubious voice replies “That sounds like an issue he needs to work out in therapy.”
  53. When Akira wakes up still sitting at his desk, he rubs his face, wipes the drool off his notes and notices with a start that Akechi’s coat has been placed around his shoulders.
  54. Akira stays abreast of trends like it’s nothing, is always changing styles on his whim, finding new ways to dress and new things to do, so much so that Goro feels stagnant in comparison, out-of-touch and out of place– but Akira only grins at him, kisses his cheek and says “I like you just the way you are.”
  55. “It’s like you’re a vampire,” Goro grumbles, because of the way Akira always seems to go for his neck, but then Akira points out that he also likes Goro’s hips, and his thighs, and his– “Th-That’s quite _enough!_ And now you just sound like a cannibal!”
  56. For the rest of Akira’s life, he’ll think about all the things he could have done instead.
  57. “I updated the autopsy report, of course,” says Akechi, smiling sunnily at the judge before turning to stare Akira down from across the courtroom, and Akira slumps his head on the desk with a muffled groan.
  58. It’s bad when Akira tells him “I love you,” and even worse when right after he closes his eyes and says “I’m sorry.”
  59. “To be honest,” Akira begins, voice hushed and conspiratorial as he leans over the Leblanc counter like he’s about to tell a grave secret, face so close to Goro it makes Goro’s heartbeat quicken, “I actually prefer tea.”
  60. Akira’s never been more sure of anything than he is of this: you can’t choose who to love, but even if he could, he’d pick Goro, every time, every single time.
  61. “I... don’t object to your keeping those images on your phone,” Goro says, face red and eye twitching, “but I would prefer you not title the folder _Compromising Photos of Goro Akechi Slash Eggplant Emoji Slash One Hundred Percent Would Bang_.”
  62. Akira eats his breakfast in sleepy, sullen silence after realizing that Goro’s seductive entreaties were just a ploy to get him out of bed and he will not, in fact, be getting some this morning.
  63. There’s nothing special about the transfer student, not in terms of looks or intelligence or anything else, but for some reason, when he speaks in his low, calm voice Goro can’t help but turn and look at him over his shoulder.
  64. Akechi is always looking ahead at perfection, dogged in his absolute pursuit of being special, and sometimes Akira wonders if there’s even any room for him on a journey that seems fit for one.
  65. _I know you_ is all Akira can think as he watches Akechi’s face contort in blind rage as Akira dodges his attacks, feeling Akechi’s fury mirrored in his very soul– _I know you, I know you, I know you._
  66. Akira’s not foolish enough to believe that love can heal every wound, but he’s young enough to wish it could.
  67. Kurusu is _nothing_ like him, thinks Goro, so brash and stubborn and enigmatic and theatrical and– well, actually…
  68. Akira kisses Goro’s knuckles, his cheek, the back of his neck, the corner of his lips.
  69. “If you’re free, perhaps we could go somewhere to talk,” Akechi says, smiling pleasantly, and Akira, thinking of all the things he has to do, says “Sure, I have time.”
  70. Akira resolves not to ever forget.
  71. Makoto knows _something_ is different, just from the slightly charged way those two are acting around each other, but it’s not until she sees Akechi laugh quietly when Akira leans over and whispers something in his ear that she thinks first _...Oh,_ and then _OH._
  72. Akira didn’t know Akechi wore reading glasses– when he gestures at Akira’s own frames and says “So, how strong are yours?” Akira thinks of the little tag he tore off that said FASHION GLASSES, ¥2000 and says “...Uh, crazy strong.”
  73. Goro has a soft heart and sharp edges, a dangerous mind filled with childish desires– a mess of contradictions, someone Akira thinks is worth knowing, someone he finds all too easy to love.
  74. Akechi says he’s unwelcome everywhere he goes, but Akira sees the way he seems to make every adult he meets bend so easily to his whim and envies, quietly.
  75. Akira hates being talked down to, but when Akechi starts with his demands and his “are you listening, Kurusu?” Akira just wants to say _yes_ and _please keep at it because for reasons I don’t want to examine right now that bossy asshole tone is really doing it for me unfortunately._
  76. It’s easier than it should be, keeping things from his teammates, taking Akechi’s mask off in Mementos with careful hands– so easy it only makes Akira’s guilt worse.
  77. Goro only really realizes how much Akira loves him when he wakes up and sees his boyfriend– decidedly not a morning person– sleepily making him breakfast.
  78. Akira’s easy affection is almost too much to bear.
  79. Goro feels ambivalent towards the coffee and definitely only hatred for the incorrigible flirty barista, so why the hell does he keep coming back to this café?
  80. “The mess is deplorable,” Akechi says, voice toneless, as the two of them survey Shido’s maimed corpse at their feet, “but I can’t say I regret it.”
  81. Goro wants silence, sometimes, not consoling words or chatty company, and with him Akira learns the way to find quiet harmony and simply _be._
  82. “Is she… ever going to give it back?” Goro says wearily, watching Futaba absorbed in his phone, but Akira only turns a page of his magazine and says “She’s probably installing better software; be grateful.”
  83. It makes no sense that Goro’s pancakes should be such a shockingly effective hangover cure, but when Akira asks for the recipe Goro replies rather ominously “It’s better that you not know some things.”
  84. Goro really fucking hates these honeypot missions, and fully resolves to complain to Sae later, even if the target is devilishly attractive in a way that happens to correspond exactly to Goro’s type– but too stupid or maybe, ahem, _distracted_ to notice his laptop’s been stolen.
  85. Not Goro’s unwavering resolve, not the cross pendant he clutches at his chest, not even his years of work in the clergy can prepare him for the vampire who gives him a once-over, grins with fangs showing and says “Hey, you’re pretty cute.”
  86. Goro thinks he’s being inconspicuous when he sneaks careful glances at that good-looking, tousled-hair boy in the hallways– but then that bastard looks at him and _winks._
  87. Something about the careful way Akechi talks, his pretty words and his pretty mouth, makes alarm bells ring in Akira’s head.
  88. Akira’s never wanted anyone’s approval before this.
  89. “Don’t you hate,” Ann says conversationally, gesturing at Akira and Akechi walking side-by-side, “how the two of them always look good in _anything?”_ and Makoto, grimly surveying Akira check himself out in a storefront window, replies “I just hate that they both know it.”
  90. Goro said flowery words, talked about fate just to catch Kurusu off-guard, but he realizes too late that in the end they really are inexorably connected, bound with each other in life (he squeezes the trigger) and death alike.
  91. “Why, exactly,” Morgana says, cat-eyes narrowing, “are you following _four_ Akechi fan update Twitter accounts?” and Akira, looking up from his phone, opens his mouth, closes it and says “Uh, research?”
  92. “You do remember that I tried to murder you,” Goro says, staring at Akira in incomprehension after he’s let his head fall onto Goro’s lap, and with eyes already closing Akira just sleepily mumbles “Don’t do it again.”
  93. Now Akechi makes up for all that time behind a mask by rejecting Akira’s offer of a freshly-brewed cup with “Please, that blend was always dreadful” or disdainfully saying “I don’t know how you can live in this filth” every time he’s in the attic, and as harsh as it is, Akira thinks, grinning, somehow it’s like a breath of fresh air.
  94. “Akira has heart emojis by your name in his phone, so why don’t you? Answer me!” Ryuji demands, and when Goro blinks and says, “Uh, I have an Android, so I can’t–” Ryuji yells “That’s no excuse!” and proudly makes a weary Goro present his boyfriend with a box of heart-shaped chocolates to make up for it.
  95. The way Kurusu says “Akechi-senpai” with that slight mocking edge is enough to make Goro eventually stiffly reply “Stop that, please,” to which Kurusu leans forward, grins and says “All right then, _Goro_.”
  96. Goro likes the outfit because of the loudly-declaring HERO hat, and Akira likes taking advantage of how easy it is to pull Goro closer by the drawstrings of his sweatshirt and kiss him as he pleases.
  97. Whenever Akira senses he’s losing ground in their debates, he plants well-placed distractions in the form of deliberate touches or shameless words or flirty looks, and Goro always ends up the loser in the end.
  98. Goro _really_ doesn’t like Makoto’s absurd "experimental punk" band, and he _really_ isn’t attracted to their curly-haired guitarist with the mischievous smile and the deep gray eyes, and he _really_ wishes he could stop thinking about this and get back to work already.
  99. Akira can never really forget that Akechi wants him dead, not even during those times when it seems like Akechi’s smile almost reaches his eyes and his laugh is nearly genuine, but shamefully, secretly, he wishes he could.
  100. Akira’s never been fond of math, but it’s easier when Akechi explains it in his measured voice, how he lays out the theory of sets and pairs and all the ways things intersect– an explanation that makes more sense, somehow, when Akira thinks about the two of them and all the ways they fit together.



 


End file.
